


Caught

by z0mb1k1d



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Comfort, Dialogue Heavy, Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Implied Bulimia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, One Shot, Sad and Sweet, Secrets, Self-Esteem Issues, Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 10:31:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11251305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/z0mb1k1d/pseuds/z0mb1k1d
Summary: Prompto's demons come to haunt him in the late hours of the night, and although he isn't necessarily good at it, Noctis tries his best to comfort his long-time friend.





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, if eating disorders trigger you then please don't read this. It's only really in the very beginning of this story, but I don't want anyone to get hurt reading this. Hope you enjoy~  
> P.s. this fic is really short and it's really really stupid ok, I ain't gonna lie. I came up with this on a whim and pulled it out of my ass at 12 am but I hope it's good enough for a read lmao.

It was late into the night now; earlier the team had a campfire going outside. Ignis made dinner, Prompto and Noctis goofed around in their own little world, and Gladio sat back to enjoy the show. The Prince and the muscle man turned in early, deciding to go to sleep while the other two men stayed by the fire and made conversation. That was a good 45 minutes ago, and Noctis finds that he's having a difficult time getting into a good, deep sleep. Something is turning over in the back of his mind that won't let his body fully shut off. Something is wrong; had they left the fire going? Were there enemies near? Something _worse_?  
Noctis sits up from his comfortable position and squints in the darkness - he sees a snoring giant to his left, and the tent opening to his right. Firelight still flickers in from the outdoors, but there's no Ignis or Prompto, which means no forest fire to worry about. The Prince stays quiet, listening for anything at all, but hears nothing from outside. His stomach turns, because even if Prompto and Ignis don't have much to bond over, he should still hear chatting - at least from the younger man. He decides to ignore the sleep calling to him and gets up to exit the tent, and all he sees is spiky Ignis hair from behind.

"Where's Prompto?" A deep, groggy voice catches Ignis' attention immediately.

"Awake again?"

"Clearly." Noctis mutters, unimpressed with the response as he stumbles closer, "Did he run off to explore on his own?" He asks while stretching out his arms.

"I suppose. Prompto left about 30 minutes ago and hasn't returned."

"And you haven't tried looking for him?" Noctis makes a face.

"I would, but he's done this several times now." The brunette pushes up his glasses, staring into the fire with sleep heavy in his eyes. "He'll be back within a few minutes." 

"That doesn't make me any less concerned." Noctis swipes his jacket from the edge of a fold-out chair and slings it on over his shoulders. "I'll be back soon - don't bother investigating after me."

"If I have to, I will. That's my job."

"Sure." The Prince snorts and strays from the warm glow of the fire and who was left of his partners. How in the hell is he supposed to find Promptis so late at night? He could have gone in any direction, and he probably took a challenging path too. 'It's too dark for this shit.' Noctis grows impatient with every step, looking around like he's never seen a tree in his life, but no glimpse of blonde through the foliage catches his eye. 'What would he even have to do out here? Look for a chocobo?' He scoffs a laugh at the thought. Notcis' tired mind falls deeper into a random rabbit hole the further he wanders, but his feet come to an abrupt halt when he hears coughing nearby. His hazy mind freezes over, unable to move while waiting for another sound. Quickly after, more coughs ensue.  
The first worse-case-scenario Noctis can envision, is that he's been injured. Stabbed, slashed, something that's causing Prompto pain.  
The second, he imagines while approaching the coughing, is that Prompto is just sick and didn't want to upset Ignis. Unfortunately, neither are the case - because Noctis would prefer having to heal Prompto any day over the emotional baggage that comes soon after finding him.  
The blonde is kneeling, hunched against a tree, puking his guts out.

'Woah.' Noctis convinces himself Prompto is just sick. It's nothing big. "Prompto?" He rushes forward on instinct. The younger flinches, then coughs a bit at the sudden inhale. It takes him a second to realize the Prince is there before him, but Prompto seems to straighten up quickly.

"Heeeey buddy." He laughs, wearing a tired expression.

"Are you... Ok?" Noctis asks slowly as he drops down to one knee, staring at his friend with an arched brow and concern in his eyes.

"Y-yeah! I'm good!" Prompto shifts onto his ass with another nonchalant laugh, "Just had to, ya know." He shrugs. No, Noctis doesn't know.  
He thinks back on Iggy's words and comes to a startling revelation,

"Why are you out here?" His brows knit together, blue eyes caught in a critical stare.

"I didn't want to just hurl in front of tent, that'd be gross." He smiles.

"Why are you throwing up in the first place? You're more fit than a dog." Noctis' voice cuts through the air, thick and unwavering.

"I... Ah..." Prompto gulps hard; he breaks their eye contact and stares down at his legs, a deep red fills his complexion.  
He's been caught. "I don't really do this very much, ok?"

"Do _what_ very much?" The Prince cranes his head to try and see Prompto's face, but it doesn't work.

"Force the food back up." He's light with his words, feeling an overwhelming dread consume him.

"Is this why you've been disappearing? Cuz if so, then, you do it a lot more than you realize." Noctis frowns.

"I-I know. I'm just not used to being fed so much." Prompto pulls his legs to his chest, silence falling over them.

"Why? That's not a normal reaction for getting to eat 3 meals a day."

"Because I," Prompto struggles to stare back at his friend, his partner; the person who cares to know. "I just want to," His face scrunches, eyes become watery, "I wanna be the best I can for you."  
Noctis blinks,

"You what?"

"I don't know if I'm capable of keeping up with you guys lately. It feels like I'm falling behind... Again." He rubs his own arms self-consciously, "I'm indulging too much, and it's really messing with my head." Prompto chuckles while wearing a frown. "I can't be perfect for you if I don't keep myself in check."

"You already _are_ perfect for me. You don't have any reason to change at all." Noctis says honestly. "Where are these thoughts coming from? You're always ready to have my back, just like Ignis and Gladio." He falls back against a tree and yawns, "There's no reason for you to feel less than they are. Or than _I_ am."

Prompto _finally_ looks back up at him, "You don't even have to try, Noct." The pain shows in his eyes, his thin brows contracted upward. "You were born into greatness, and it doesn't even matter because even without all your royal powers you're just the best." The blonde confesses with nothing to hold him back, "You're so good at everything you do. And I'm... I'm not there with you. I'll never be."

" _Yes you are._ " Noctis' tone sharpens, his heart thumping hard in his chest. "Why would you be here right now, with me, if you weren't good enough?"  
He pauses, then chuckles, "You think I'd keep just anyone around to help me fight? Find any old geezer to help me out?" The Prince rolls his eyes, "I'd only reserve this spot right beside me to the best gunslinger I've ever met, who also happens to be my best friend."

"I guess we are best buds." Prompto smiles bashfully. 

"Yeah. I'm not gonna let you treat yourself like this." 

"I feel so small beside you guys though. I'm just annoying." 

"Yeah, sometimes. But it's charming." Noctis shrugs, "If you weren't here, who'd take all our pictures?" 

"Uh, not me." 

"Yeah, and who would I ride chocobo's with?" 

"Ignis and Gladio?" 

"Maybe, but I wouldn't have as good of a time with them as I do when I ride with you." His grace deeply sighs, he stares at Prompto with a look of loss and comfort, "Do you want to be here?" 

"More than anything!" 

"Then treat yourself like you deserve to be here. Please, just," He chokes on his words, unsure of how to be so sentimental, "Be good to yourself so I don't have to worry. I worry a lot about you. Wayyy too much." 

"I'm sorry." The blonde scratches at his neck.  
Noctis throws his arm around Prompto's shoulders and drags him close, "Stop apologizing already. We have too many things to stress about, and being paranoid is not one of them." 

"Yeah, that's true." The blonde laughs as he hugs onto Noctis, finding comfort in every inch of the other without shame to hold him back. "Uh, weren't you sleeping?" 

"Intuition woke me up." Noctis says with a grumble hidden in the back of his throat. 

"Woah, so like, you knew when something not good was happening? That's awesome!" 

"Eh, sort of. I'd say it's more like I know when you're sad. Kinda." A light pink buzzes along the top of Noctis' cheekbones at the unfortunate choice of words he picked. 

"That's hardcore." Prompto snickers. 

"Uh, sure."  
The two men sit in silence under the stars for a long while, almost to the point of returning to sleep, but after a heavy silence Noctis can't help but shift in his position at the smell of something unpleasant. "Can we go back to the tent? Your barf smells." 

"Dude!" Prompto jumps to his feet, frantic with embarrassment. "You didn't have to say it like that!" 

"How else was I gonna say it?" Noctis chuckles as he stands back up, choosing not to make a big deal out of the incident in the hopes it doesn't happen again. 

"In _any_ other way but that. Seriously not cool." 

"It's also not cool to leave at night without telling me." The two men head back towards the camp, keeping their voices hushed to avoid any unnecessary confrontation. "Don't do that." He purposely bumps against the blonde with force. 

"You gonna put me on a leash if I do?" Prompto smirks devilishly, challenging the sleepy Prince. 

"Not like I'd be opposed to that..." 

**Author's Note:**

> So I've never written Promptis before but it's one of my favorite ships ever so I gave it a shot; take this as like a practice fic. A prologue to any other Promptis stories I write that would hopefully turn out to be MUCH better.


End file.
